Streaming media is media that is constantly received by, and normally displayed to, an end-user while it is being delivered by the provider. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather than to the medium itself. The distinction is usually applied to media that are distributed over telecommunications networks, as most other delivery systems are either inherently streaming (e.g. radio, television) or inherently non-streaming (e.g. books, video cassettes, audio CDs).
Streaming media is a sequence of media (such as video frames) sent in compressed form over the Internet and displayed in a media player as the media is received. With streaming video or streaming media, a Web user does not have to wait to download a large file before experiencing the streaming media. Instead, the media is sent in a continuous stream and is played as it arrives. The user needs a media player which is a software application that decompresses and processes the media data for playback. A player can be either an integral part of a browser or downloaded from a Web site.
Streaming video is a form of streaming media that is usually sent from prerecorded video files, but can be distributed as part of a live broadcast “feed.” In order to provide free content via streaming video, content providers insert paid advertisements throughout the streaming video.